Cyprus, as I Saw It in 1879

ndless life that we had been leading, the vans once more started en route for Kythrea, Famagousta, and the Carpas district. I had hired a good,

d close to us. Upon these boundless flats an object may be seen as distinctly as though upon the water, and we soon descried in the far distance a dark spot, which the binocular glass, if at sea, would have pronounced to be the stern of a vessel that had lost her masts, ke

er to at least one of our vehicles. Upon our arrival we found a crowd of people yelling and shouting their utmost, while they were engaged in company with four oxen harnessed in dragging and pushing the blue van up a new road which they had scarped out of the precipitous bank of a river about forty feet deep; this accounted for only one van being in sight, as the other was in the dry bed of the river. These good people had been working for several hou

level of the opposite bank. A few alterations in the new road were necessary for the larger gipsy-van, and taking the drag-shoe off the blue van, we were thus enabled to secure both the hind-wheels

and the route was partly across country, to avoid layers of natural rock which in successive ridges made it impossible for the vans to keep the track. S

of the island, and they were quartered in a comfortable house on the outskirts of the town. With this excellent guide, who could explain every inch of the surrounding country, we started upon a most interesting ride. The entire neighbourhood was green with abundant crops of cereals, some of which at this early seaso

concealed by the curious ravine through which the water of the springs is conducted by aqueducts until it reaches the lower ground. For a distance of three miles this ravine is occupied by houses and gardens, all of which are s

us upon our left, and the doors of others upon our right, so close to the narrow path as scarcely to admit the passage of a loaded mule. The water rushed along the bottom in a rapid stream, plunging from the adit below one turbine to a temporary freedom in a natural channel, from which it was quickly captured and led into an aqueduct of masonry to another mill at a lower level. All the inhabitants had turned out to see an English lady, and the usual welcome was exhibited by sprinkling us with rose and orange-flower water as we passed; the omnipresent dogs yelled and barked with their usual threatening demonstrations at the heels of our animals, and some from the low roofs of the houses were unpleasantly close to our heads. We were now among the conical mounds, along the steep sides of which a path of about twelve inches width appeared to invite destruction, as the loose crumbling material rolled down the deep incline beneath the hoofs of the sure-footed horses and mules. Thes

d down upon the roofs of houses more than a hundred feet below, and we at length halted and dismount

e lower stream-bed. A rough arch of masonry and a tunnel in the rock for about forty feet formed the embouchure, from which the water issued into a carefully constructed stone aqueduct, which led

hich was about twenty-six inches deep, and three feet in width. The water was beau

g exhibition of maidenhair ferns during summer-time, as the crevices were all occupied

others were in process of development from the melting-away of the soil during heavy rains. As the surface dissolved under the action of rainfall, it flouted down the steep inclinations, until a base was formed, at the expense of the upper area; by degrees gullies were created in the rear, and these would rapidly become deeper under the action of running water, until they reached the lower level of the base. A circle thus formed,

masonry extended for twenty-five miles to Salamis; in the neighbourhood of which ruins of the old work are still existing. If the seasons of Cyprus have undergone a change since the forests have been destroyed, I can see no reason for the innumerable vestiges of ancient water-works throughout the country. Wherever an important spring existed, there was a settlement of corresponding exte

without a silkworm to feed upon them. The thirty-two flour-mills of Kythrea are worked by a fall of 400 feet between the head-water of the spring to the base of the lowest mill at the foot of the mountains. It appeared to me that much water is wasted by an absence of scientific control. A series of reservoirs would store the excess during the hours when the mills are idle (similar to the mill-ponds in England), but as there is no municipal law upon this important subject, the all-important stream is much neglected. There is a general demand for grinding-power throughout Cyprus; the corn is brought from great distances to the mills of Kythrea at a considerable expen

g morning, when I could stroll at my leisure over the mountains, and enjoy myself thoroughly acco

a high level of continuous but alternating strata of marls and alluvium that had descended from the higher mountains. These vast masses are in a chaotic confusion of separate heaps, which at a distance resemble volcanic cones. We rode up precipitous paths edging upon deep chasms between these conical hills, and emerged upon metamorphous rocks and shale mingled in curious irregularity. The strata of shale were in some instances nearly vertical, proving the disturbance that had been occasioned by a subsequent upheaval. Abo

nean conduit far beneath the bottom of the intervening channel, it ascends at the peculiar rock-mouth of Kythrea. This is simple nonsense, and can only be accepted by those who adore the unreal, instead of the guide, "common-sense." The actual volume of the outflow at Kythrea has never been calcu

en Moses smote the rock in the wilderness, and the stream gushed forth to the thirsty Israelites, to the present hour, water, which is man's first necessity, will in drought-smitten countr

y pilgrim,

nd soul of

this Cross

ne will bring the lion and the lamb to drink in the same stream. I have myself seen in moonlight, animals of various and conflicting

es of the Messaria plain, simply because they do not see it issue from the ground: still the fact is there, the water in vast quantities always exists, and were it tapped at a highe

hese were the rude lime-kilns, and at an elevation of about a thousand feet above Kythrea we came upon the families of lime-burners who for several generations have resided in these heights, either in caves, or rude huts, according to the conditions of the locality. Women and girls were hard at work with strong grubbing-axes, digging out the roots of brushwood from among the rocks and making them into faggots, as fuel for burning the grey limestone. The work was most laborious, and I was struck by the great thickness of the roots of comparatively small shrubs. Upon regar

ath;-it was explained, that, during the heavy shower of yesterday, a donkey was carrying his usual burthen of quick-lime, when he

ks lay in rough and huge blocks of various shapes and colours, and while examining these I was struck by the presence of the rare and peculiar green marble known as verde antica. In the immediate neighbourhood I discovered great masses of the same stone, but minus the green base, exhibiting at the same time the characteristics of irregular mosaic in the angular frag

low. This cistern was within a few feet of the cypress-tree, and accounted for its superior growth, as the roots had been duly nourished. About a hundred feet above this spot were the ruins of an ancient Greek church, that had no doubt been associated with the holy dripping fountain, and the solitary tree had been spared from the ruthless axes of the lime-burners through some superstition connected wit

he locality, we arrived at a tolerably even surface of rich brown soil in a hollow near the shoulder of the mountain; this had recently been cleared for cultivation by the lime-burners to the extent of about two acres, and I remarked

ourable impression. We turned "right-about-face" to the north. This was indeed a wonderful change of aspect! We looked down from the picturesque and precipitous wall of mountains which stretched far away to the east and west; the sides were covered with evergreens, through which the bold crags protruded in rugged points; the dark indentures upon the steep slopes marked deep ravines in which streams of water now rippled, while all on the south were stony and exhausted. The strip of land between the sea and the northern base of the Carpas range was hardly three miles wide; this was covered with well-rounded caroub-trees, whose dark green foliage gave a rich appearance to the shore, broken by countless rocky bays and coves, filled with the cobalt waters of the Mediterranean. This was a lovely scene; I could not believe that I was in Cyprus-that whitey-brown-paper-coloured, desert, smitten, God-forsaken isle! Upon the left,

d partridges, which rose upwards of a hundred yards in front of the gun; it was quite impossible to obtain a shot. With an empty bag, but with a new impression of the country since my view of the landscape in

the miles of green crops which were nourished by innumerable watercourses, each of which must be levelled before we could advance. It was therefore necessary to retrace our steps to within a mile and a half of Lefkosia, to the point where the main route branched to Famagousta. This was a great waste of time, but there was no other way of avoiding the difficulty. Accordingly we started, and after a few miles we cut across country to the high road, while the vans slowly crawled along the uneven way until they reached the turning-poi

ersons, provided that no carving was performed, and that the dishes were handed round. The bed was athwart-ship at the far end beneath the stern-window, but at such a height from the floor that several broad shelves beneath contained gun-cases, ammunition, clothes, boots, tins of preserved provisions, and in fact everything that, although necessary, was to be kept out of sight. The only mistake in the arrangements was a very large and gorgeous open-brass-work Egyptian lantern, with glass of various colours and outlandish patterns in Arabesque. In the evening we formed an irregular light-house, as two ordinary carriage-lamps were fixed above and on either side the entrance door, while the gorgeous many-coloured lantern swung from the roof inside, and flashed red, green, and yellow signals in wild confusion. I knew this piece of finery would not last long, as it would insist upon running against everybody's head, its large size bringing it into constant collision; but it looked well, and ornamented the van. As it burnt several candles the lantern became hot, which somewhat warmed the cabin, and was a welcome increase of temperature, for although the floor was protected by oil-cloth, upon which were double layers of Scinde rugs, the extreme thinness of the wall

your simple "but upon wheels" is to be dragged along, over, and through all kinds of obstacles, there can be no use whatever in springs, which by their elasticity allow your vehicle to sway from side to side, and to seriously threaten the centre of gravity, when in a dangerous place, by oscillation. The cap-waggon of South Africa will go anywhere. The two-wheeled cart of Cyprus is a wonderfully simple affair that may be dragged up or down the side of a mountain by a couple of oxen; the high wheels and light but strong body surmounting all obstacles; these carts do not carry more than twelve or fourteen hundredweight, but in an expedition I should much prefer them to the heavy waggons of So

. All this was of course annoying in a country where a horse would have cantered cheerily along and have accomplished forty miles a day; but, on the other hand, the van was never intended for grande vitesse; neither is express travelling the proper method of obtaining an accurat

e hours in finding the vans at the halting-place in the evening; this was not improving to the temper, and of course I laid the

became disheartened, and the pair which drew the blue van driven by our favourite Georgi determined to strike work just as he was applying the sharp driving prick to their posteriors in ascending a steep bank, through which we had cut a passage from the deep water-course beneath. Instead of keeping a straight course, these pig-headed bullocks made a sharp turn to the right up the incline. Down went one upon its knees in rage and despair! while round went the other in an opposite direction: crash we

ersuade them to quit the comfortable vehicle, which they supposed had been specially cleared for their convenience; the doors were accordingly shut, and they were locked up. We now passed ropes beneath the van, and secured the ends to the bottom of the wheels, which rested upon the ground; the other ends were thrown over the cap-roof and manned, while the rest of the party endeavoured to raise the va

approached within a quarter of a mile of the village and halted for the night. I made a capital pole from the stem of a yo

best ground we had seen in Cyprus, and the vans travelled with ease at upwards of three miles an hour. Throughout this march I observed that the water in the various wells and open pits was hardly five feet from the surface, although the country was

ly fertile, but as usual covered with stones, the debris of decayed limestone of the post-tertiary period, such as is found throughout the Messaria. The flat valley below was about thirteen miles across due north, and was bounded by the Carpas range, which extended to the east beyond telescopic view. In our front was a cheering scene, towards which we

were heights and undulating ground, corresponding to those upon which we stood-all treeless and cold; while upon our right, close to the aqueduct, was the bright green of high cultivation, and groves of tall trees which towered above gardens of oranges and lemons now bending beneath the burden of yellow fruit. The village was disappointing, as the houses were of a low order and much neglected; the lanes were occupied by the usual filth and noisy dogs; but the agreeable view of bright green fields and real thriving trees was a delightful change, and exhibited a picture of what Cyprus might becom

on the north. To the east we looked over the broadest portion of a dead flat created by the deposit from inundations of the eccentric river Pedias, which, although dry at the present time, periodically floods the country and

fields of barley, although they were not supposed to be under irrigation. M. Mattei is well known as the largest landed proprietor in Cyprus, and the representative of agricultural progress; but his bailiff at Kuklia could hardly have expected a prize at an exhibition, although every facility exists for creating a perfect model-farm. The springs which supply the water-power were discovered in three different positions about three miles distant. The usual chains of wells (already described) were sunk, and at a convenient spot they converged into a single line, until a lower level introduced the channel to the surface. The water was then received into a stone aqueduct, and led with great judgment in a

in an open channel, which from its convenience offered an irresistible invitation. Such a tempting stream, running through a canal upon a broad wall of masonry open to all comers would, in any European country, have been the natural resort of boys, who would have revelled in the freedom of nakedness and the delight of bathing in forbidden waters; but in Cyprus I have never once seen a person washing himself

been defaced by the mutilations usual throughout Cyprus. If a man requires a stick or a piece of wood for any purpose, he hacks unsparingly at the first tree; whether it belongs to him or to another proprietor. The ground sloped gradually to the lowest l

skeletons and carcasses of oxen, that afforded bones of contention for the numerous village dogs who acted as scavengers. When the droves of oxen returned from pasture every evening, many were in a state of weakness that scarcely allowed them step by step to ascend

shrubs that some writers have misnamed "heath," together with the highly aromatic herbs that seem to delight in a thirsty soil; among these is a thorny species of wild thyme, that is a favourite food for hares. In some places the soil was red, forming a strong contrast to the white surface around, and in such spots the earth had been already ploughed in preparation for the forthcoming season. The large area at a higher altitude formed an example of a principle that may be accepted as the rule throughout the is

ilising springs is a proof that a scarcity of water has been a chronic difficulty in this island from remote periods, and that no important change has been occasioned by the sensational destruction of forests influencing the rainfa

s, as the cathedral of Famagousta formed the prominent point; therefore a steeple-chase might have been the direct cross-country way. There was no change in the usual features of the barren landscape. We kept upon the high ground on the right, looking down upon the dreary flat for twenty miles to our left. Occasionally we passed villages, all of which were mere copies of each other in filth and squalor. The dogs barked and snapped ineffectually at our heels as we cantered through; the civil and ever-courteous people turned out and salaamed; and we quickly accomplished the twelve miles and approached the walls of Famagousta. Nothing that I saw in Cyprus has impressed me so much as the site of this powerful fortress and once important city. I lunched with Captain Inglis, who as ch